Judge Schroeder of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Urantia Papers were "created" -- "transcribed, compiled, and collected" -- by the contact commission; and, therefore, the Foundation gets to copyright them.

This is in the record. And the Urantia Foundation is standing behind it: they're already trying to get injunctions in the Colorado case using Judge Schroeder's ruling. The default is official. Patti Mundelius is going on record that her relatives are liars, and that the Urantia Book is a fraud.

[Text box: "Even as dusk turns to darkness, lies turn to law . . ."]

I also believe that -- if they were seeking to make the truth about the revelation a matter of public record -- the Foundation would be first in line to object to the "facts" Schroeder invents in her Order.

"Both Parties Believe" What gets to me personally is that just because Judge Schroeder doesn't believe the Urantia Papers are a divine revelation, she attributes those same beliefs to me and makes them a matter of public record.

Statements that Schroeder characterizes as "undisputed facts" that "both sides believe" are totally incorrect. Over and over again in her Opinion she says, "both parties believe." That her Opinion is in the public record as LAW -- against all the evidence -- affidavits, briefs, documents and testimony I have spent the last 6 years bringing forth -- I find an affront, a slap in the face, a travesty of justice, and an abridgment of my rights to my beliefs. I am indignant, outraged, offended, provoked, and righteously angry that she attributes "beliefs" to me as "facts" that simply are not supported in the record. I strongly object to being characterized in this manner.

For over 40 years Urantia Foundation has marketed the Urantia Papers as divine revelation -- unchanged in any particular from the way it was materialized by the superhuman authors. The Foundation has claimed for over 40 years that the most accurate information about the origin of the book is given in the Urantia Papers by the revelators themselves.

According to the Urantia Papers, the actual composition of the Urantia Papers was assigned to three special commissions of universe personalities, all superhuman:

Part I was formulated by a high commission of twenty-four Orvonton (superuniverse) administrators headed by a Divine Counselor and was presented in 1934.

Parts II and III were authorized by a Nebadon (local universe) commission of twelve, acting under the direction of Mantutia Melchizedek and were indited in 1934 and 1935.

Part IV was sponsored by a commission of twelve Urantia midwayers acting under the supervision of a Melchizedek revelatory director.

In over 2000 pages of Urantia Papers, the revelators never mention questions asked by humans; the revelators never mention the forum; the revelators never mention the contact commission; and the revelators never mention the Foundation or the Declaration of Trust.

Of the human contact personality, the Papers (at page 1208) are clear that Doc's patient didn't communicate the teachings, it was his Thought Adjuster who was used: "The Adjuster ... through whom this communication is being made..."

Millstone Time The most harmful part of Schroeder's Order is the damage it can do to fledgling faith. If one believes that humans "fiddled" with the revelation, one loses the leverage provided by the superhumans to change our thinking. To condone, accept, approve, endorse, excuse, ignore, promote, sanction, countenance or authorize Schroeder's position is to put a millstone around the neck of potential believers.

[Text box: "The false shepherds have let slip the wolves of law among the Master's flock. . ."]

Part of the basis for the credibility of the Urantia Papers is that the contact commission were honorable folks, and the contact commission has testified over and over that they didn't change a word, that they printed the Papers just as they received them from the revelators. Every bit of evidence we have so painfully gleaned over the last 6 years from the Foundation and from members of the contact commission contradicts the "facts" on which Schroeder bases her Opinion.

Schroeder's assumption -- her whole premise -- seems to be that some patient of Doc Sadler's "channeled" a bunch of teachings and then the Sadlers edited, arranged, and compiled these transcripts into the Urantia Papers. Schroeder's "facts" are in direct contradiction to every bit of testimony or evidence we have from the Papers, from members of the contact commission, and from early trustees.

Schroeder's Order Schroeder's first sentence in her Order is: "This is a copyright dispute between parties who believe the copyrighted work, the Urantia Book, was authored by celestial beings and transcribed, compiled and collected by mere mortals."

Emma Christensen, a member of the contact commission, testified in 1975: "The Urantia Book was published precisely as it was given to the people of this planet. Not a word has been added or deleted."

I find Judge Schroeder's sarcasm about "mere mortals" offensive and unprofessional. Judge Urbom ruled against me in 5 or so of the Summary Judgments filed by the Foundation -- but I always felt Urbom was respectful of religious beliefs. I also felt Urbom actually read the briefs from both sides.

"Mere Mortals" True, we are animal-origin mortals, but we aren't "mere mortals." Thanks to the Urantia Papers, we know that we're potential finaliters.

"To the Adjuster-fused mortal the career of universal service is wide open. What dignity of destiny and glory of attainment await every one of you! Do you fully appreciate what has been done for you? Do you comprehend the grandeur of the heights of eternal achievement which are spread out before you? -- even you who now trudge on in the lowly path of life through your so-called `vale of tears'?" (Urantia Papers 449).

Schroeder's Opinion: "For copyright purposes, however, a work is copyrightable if copyrightability is claimed by the first human beings who compiled, selected, coordinated, and arranged the Urantia teachings, `in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship.'" (Discussion,  [2]).

A History the Foundation claims was written by Doc Sadler, tells a completely different story about the role of the contact commission:

"The Papers were published just as we received them. The contact commissioners had no editorial authority. Our job was limited to `spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.'" (History, 000314,  1).

Schroeder's Opinion: "Yet Feist also recognized that a compilation of facts may possess the requisite originality when the author chooses which facts to include, in what order to place them, and how to arrange the data so that readers may use them effectively." (Discussion,  [2.1])

I believe this sentence describes what the revelators did, not the contact commission. The Papers tell us that humans tend to want to go from easy to difficult, but (as Jim Mills put it):

"The authors have placed the sequence of studies in their present arrangement for their own good reasons and while it is tempting to skip around, much better results are obtained by slow steady reading."

Schroeder's Opinion: "We hold that the human selection and arrangement of the revelations in this case could not have been so `mechanical or routine as to require no creativity whatsoever.'"

There was no "human selection and arrangement!" Again, Emma Christensen testifies: "I can categorically assure you that no humans decided the content of the Urantia Book. The Book is as the revelators gave it to us."

[Text box: "How many motes does it take to make a beam?"]

Schroeder's Opinion: "Thus, notwithstanding the Urantia Book's claimed non-human origin, the Papers in the form in which they were originally organized and compiled by the members of the Contact Commission were at least partially the product of human creativity." The Papers thus did not belong to that `narrow category of works in which the creative spark is utterly lacking or so trivial as to be virtually nonexistent.'" (Discussion,  [5]).

The Papers were NOT "organized and compiled" by the contact commission. The revelators were so precise in their instructions (even to telling the contact commission when they had permission to print the Papers) that it might be more accurate to say that "the creative spark is utterly lacking or so trivial as to be virtually nonexistent" in this case. As Emma Christensen puts it:

"The Urantia Book was published just as we received it in English. There was no editing. Our only jurisdiction had to do with typing, proof-reading and publication."

Schroeder's Opinion: "The Papers were therefore protected by common law copyright from the moment they were created by the members of the Contact Commission until publication of the Book." (Ownership of the Copyright at the Time of Original Publication,  [6]).

To me, this is one of Schroeder's most offensive sentences! (Under oath, the Foundation was not even sure who the members of the contact commission were!) The Papers were NOT "created" by members of the contact commission!

[Text box: "It's a strain to swallow Schroeder's camel."]

Again, from Emma Christensen: "The Urantia Book has not gone through any alterations. It was received in all essential respects just as you now find it, and was written in the English language."

Schroeder's Opinion: "These spiritual entities are thought to have delivered the teachings, that were eventually assembled in the Book, `through' a patient of a Chicago psychiatrist, Dr. Sadler." (Background, 1, last).

In spite of evidence in the record (and on page 1208 of the Papers) to the contrary, Schroeder writes as if the Urantia Papers were "channeled."

Doc Sadler wrote, after listing a whole page of various "Psychic Phenomena: "The technique of the reception of the Urantia Book in English in no way parallels or impinges upon any of the above phenomena of the marginal consciousness. (History).

Schroeder's Opinion: "The parties also agree that to understand these divine messages better and to share them with the rest of the world, Dr. Sadler formed a group of five or six followers, called the Contact Commission." (Background,  2).

However, Doc Sadler claimed the revelators selected the contact commissioners, and the revelators initiated the presentation of the Urantia Papers. (History, 000293).

Copyright "Interest" Schroeder's Opinion: "In fact, the mere possession of the printing plates by the Foundation, the purported assignee, may have been sufficient to establish an assignment as against a third party, such as Maaherra, who does not claim any superior copyright interest." (Ownership of the Copyright at the Time of Original Publication, [7.2].)

For Schroeder to say I -- and with me the thousands of religionists who also want the Urantia Papers in public domain -- have no "superior copyright interest" is another enormous slap in the face to religionists. There are thousands of people who have more interest in having the Papers in the public domain than the Foundation has in retaining a copyright. For religionists, giving away the Urantia Papers is evangelizing the real religion of Jesus. "Go into all the world" is not idle talk for me and for many others.

Congress wrote copyright law to serve the public interest -- the best interest of the most people. For example, when Zapruder tried to copyright his film of Kennedy's assassination, the court ruled that the public was best served by having the film in public domain.

For Judge Schroeder to give a copyright to the Foundation, she is ruling that the public is best served by 5 people who refused to sell Urantia Books to many of us. Hello?

[Text box: "The Widow's Mites: She mite be enjoined; she mite pay damages; they mite not sell books to her. . ."]

Maybe Schroeder's personal feelings about anyone (such as myself) who would base their life on a belief in the supernal teachings of the Urantia Papers is not deserving of the respect accorded more "normal" religions in America -- like I'm one short step from drinking kool-aid at the request of a space alien -- but I find her sarcasm in a legal ruling (for example, see the first sentence, "mere mortals," in her Order) most unprofessional.

Judge Schroeder has reduced the Urantia Papers to a farce, a fraud practiced upon the public by the Sadler family. Schroeder has totally humanized the authorship of the revelation. I believe the contact commissioners and the early trustees would be appalled at seeing their life's work go down the credibility drain like this. They worked so hard to bring the revelation to the world, "unchanged by any human ideas or doctrines." (James C. Mills wrote that in 1973). And this lawsuit. What was the point in collecting evidence for years, when Judge Schroeder obviously doesn't even read it? Her assumptions about what "both sides believe" totally fly in the face of all the facts:

"The Urantia Book was published just as it was received in English. There was no editing. The only function of the Foundation had to with typing, proofreading, and publication." (William Hales, first President of Foundation, dep., 19-20).

"No humans decided the content of The Urantia Book." (William Hales dep., 22:20).

"The book is unchanged from the way the revelators provided it." (William Hales dep., 23:7).

"No human ever edited this material." (Thomas Kendall, trustee).

"No human mentality was engaged in its original compilation which has been reproduced exactly as it was transmitted." (James Mills, trustee).

"No human beings decided the content of the Urantia Book. The book is as the revelators gave it to us." (Meredith Sprunger).

In oral argument, the Foundation's position in the Appeal Hearing was that the contact commission (composed exclusively of Foundation President Patti Sadler Mundelius' relatives -- Doc & Lena, Bill, Christy, and the Kelloggs) are the legal authors of the Urantia Book because they conceived the idea for the Urantia Book and then hired some superhumans to answer their questions. And don't forget, Booth told the Judges, the Foundation still resides in the family home at 533 Diversey, and Auntie Helen still lives there since the death of Auntie Christy. It's obvious who should own the copyright -- it's the family business.

Judge Schroeder compares the Urantia Papers to taking names and addresses ("facts") and creating a telephone book with your own (copyrightable) selection and arrangement.

The public domain part, says Schroeder, is the "facts," the revelations themselves.

Judge Schroeder is aware that the Foundation has claimed -- in various courts, under penalty of perjury -- not only that the patient of Doc Sadler's wrote the Urantia Papers, but that the Urantia Papers were authored by Bill Sadler, by the forum, by the contact commission, by the Foundation, and that the Urantia Papers are a "work for hire" by the contact commission.

In other words, the Foundation has told the Courts in almost every conceivable way that the Urantia Papers are NOT what they claim to be.

It's ironic that even the litigious Foundation hasn't ever asked to win copyright on the basis Schroeder gave them -- on the basis of the Papers being a collective work.

In fact, Foundation lawyer, Lloyd C. Root, filed a sworn Affidavit with the Copyright Office, February 11, 1980: "The Urantia Book is not a collective work."

In her ruling, Judge Schroeder is merely saying to the Foundation, "You're saying there has to be human authorship. OK, OK, I believe you."

Schroeder has left it up to some other Judge to tell us exactly what her Order means to Urantians.

Can we scramble the order of the Papers (create a different arrangement and compilation) and print them that way?

Is the FolioViews Index copyrightable? Eric and I took the revelations (which Schroeder says are public domain "facts") and renumbered each paragraph into a searchable computer infobase.

Forum members have testified that the Jesus Papers arrived in a bundle, all at once. Can we reprint them just as the revelators gave them? Or do we have to believe (Judge Schroeder's Opinion is Law) that they were rearranged by humans, and therefore "copyrightable" as they appear in the Urantia Book?

The quote, "The first group of Papers numbered 57," from the History, (page 000308) asks the same question.

What exactly crosses the line into "infringement"? How many trustees does it take to screw up a revelation?

[Text box: "Forbid them all, let God sort 'em out."]

Joe Lewis has filed a Petition for Rehearing with the Appeal Court in an attempt to get the Court to notice that it shouldn't be granting a Summary Judgment to the Foundation when there are facts in dispute.

Thank you again, each of you, who have been putting time, energy, money, and prayers into this lawsuit.

Regardless of the final outcome, important facts are on the record which were difficult to obtain. These facts are there for anyone to make up their own minds about. In all the years of careful scrutiny -- even with Judge Schroeder's ruling -- it is clear that our revelation is exactly what it says it is. Much love, and God bless you, Kristen Maaherra 152 California Gulch Jamestown, CO 80455

P.S. Donations are still gratefully accepted. Joe Lewis can't work without getting paid much longer; and Eric still doesn't even have a lawyer. (In writing legal briefs, Eric feels like he's been asked to do brain surgery without any training -- a good analogy, don't you think?)

PS. Judge Wiley Y. Daniel has set a hearing on the pending motions in the Colorado (copyright and trademark) case Urantia Foundation v. Eric Schaveland and Maaherra, Civil Action # 96-D- 2004, at 3:30 pm, Friday, July 25, 1997, at the US District Court for the District of Colorado in Denver.